Barry W

Wounds: For me the first two weeks sucked, but the second was a little better than the first. By four weeks I still felt stuff, but was no longer concerned. I had a little trouble with gas, constipation and diarrhea the first week, but that was mostly gone by the end of the first week. As far as feeling full/uncomfortable/nauseous after eating, that can still happen for me and I am in my sixth week now. I think it is mostly a matter of not overeating though. It is hard to get used to such a big difference in stomach capacity - it is so different than before, I can still overshoot. Getting better at gauging how much to try to eat and how soon to stop if I feel something though. Unpleasant experiences teaching me. Fortunately I have not vomited.

I gradually get better at my awareness and reactions, but yes, I will realize I am beginning to feel full, and think, "okay, just a few more bites", but if I actually take a few more bites, then later I will feel like crap. So I am trying to just stop the first moment that I notice fullness, and just throw the rest away... there is always a lag between eating and feeling it, so I wind up feeling full a few minutes later anyway, even if I stop immediately, but I avoid the discomfort if I stop on a dime.

I was advised by my HR dept that I should be using Short term Disability, for which we had some Met Life insurance coverage.

Great news :-) Glad to hear that you are feeling improvements in your comfort and well being. Based on my own experience, I think there will still be bumps in the road here and there, but that overall you will be feeling better and better in the coming weeks....

Like Jane, I think the most likely thing is that she is eating more than she can take. Different people have different capacity, but people commonly can only eat a few ounces of food at once in the beginning, say, half a cup - not much at all. If she eats less and eats slower, the problem may go away.

Well at least you recognize the problem, which is good. If you are like me I'd say don't have any nuts in the house. Yes, they have Protein and are a good source of healthy fats, but, they taste great and are very calorie-dense, so it's very easy to overdo them. Throw them out and don't buy more. Lowfat cheese and turkey wraps are certainly better, and you need to use Protein Bars, but sure you can overdo those too. At minimum, I'd say keep a food diary where each day you write every single item down that you eat, along with its calories, as you eat it - that will make you more aware of what you are eating. The last thing I can suggest is to keep some low calorie Snacks, like sugar-free Jello, fresh baby carrots, and fresh fruit in the fridge. Those will give you a lighter alternative if you want something to chew on.

The advice from my surgical group is to avoid any exercises that may tax the abdomen for 6 weeks. I started in at the gym at 4 weeks, but have been avoiding anything that may strain the abs. Plan to gradually introduce such exercises, with lower resistance and not to exhaustion at first, at 6 weeks and gradually increase. I can't gauge the risk very finely, but I don't want a hernia or that kind of setback in my program, I know that.

I was on morphine drip in the hospital, but didn't use the oxycodone script I was given to take home. I certainly felt pain, especially when getting in and out of bed the first couple of weeks, but I as able to manage it. I didn't want to be dazed and confused on the oxycodone if I could get by without it. I still felt something for the first 4 weeks, but after the first 2 weeks, I wasn't concerned about it.

I have been doing some reading in the scientific and medical literature, and so far I don't find much agreement on exactly how much Protein is safe or optimal. But, it's safe to say that the 60-80 grams per day that I was advised by my surgical team's literature is on the conservative side, i.e. the low side, and 100 grams per day for me at 250lb would be safe and perhaps better.

Don't do it!!! Back away from the cheeseburger and fries, slowwwwwly!

Don't be so hard on yourself, no one is perfect. Not feeling good about yourself can in some cases be a self-destructive spiral, so you don't want to go to that place. If you have a lapse, I think the thing to do is to acknowledge it as a mistake and something to be avoided in the future, and then just move on.

Your metabolism is obviously low. What to do about it is not always so easy. I suggest varying your calories a little bit, in other words, trying to average around the target, letting yourself be 200 under and equally likely 200 over rather than precisely trying to hit the mark each day. And like Proud2BeMe, I'd suggest bumping them up a little bit, say to 900 calories average, which is still, in the scheme of things, very low. From what I have read, stalls are related to muscle loss - some say the body is attempting to conserve muscle that is being consumed for calories; and what is well established is that one pound of muscle burns more calories than one pound of fat. Either way, you want to avoid muscle loss. The good thing is that you are exercising regularly and getting lots of Protein. It doesn't sound like you need to do *more* in the gym, but try changing up your workout - for example spending less time on the treadmill and spending 15 minutes on the weight machines, using a weight that you can manage 15-20 reps with. That sort of weight is still strength and muscle building, but is unlikely to cause any sort of injury. Endurance exercise tends to slim and tone, rather than build muscle, so I don't think you want to do that exclusively.

Low sugar Protein shakes and later, protein bars are the #1 thing. Also low sodium canned soups, a little canned broth and cream of anything soups at the start.... low sugar oatmeal, low sugar/high Fiber Cereal, Peanut Butter, Trader Joe's lowfat chicken chili and turkey chili with Beans, tuna pouches... and that's about it for me.

Fortunately my jitters weren't too bad, but I would just think that, sure, there are risks and downsides of this surgery, but there are also risks and downsides of being fat, and the surgery is actually the safer path in the long run. I had done my homework and just needed to focus on the positive, not what *might* go wrong but was unlikely.

One thing that I considered which helped me, is that I didn't *need* to eat things one last time, because I had already eaten favorite foods, too much and too many times, that was why I was landing in the operating room! At some point you need to say that enough is enough and stop, and preparing for your surgery is a very good time.

My PCP is a good doctor, but he didn't actually know what the vertical sleeve gastrectomy entailed. I gave him some written materials including average percentages of complications that the surgical group gave me. Medicine is a huge and always evolving subject, and the PCP can't know everything.

If you are using the Protein shake as a Meal Replacement rather than just a shot of protein, it doesn't need to be that light, in fact it's better to have more calories. I use the SlimFast meal replacement shakes branded High Protein/Advanced Nutrition. They have 20g of protein, 180 calories, 1g of sugar and 8g of healthy fats, plus 5g of fiber, and a panel of Vitamins and minerals at about 1/3 the RDA. They cost about $2 each for 11oz. The chocolate ones are quite tasty in my opinion. See: http://slimfast.com/products/advanced/shakes/creamy-chocolate

Start with guidelines but also eat slowly and listen to your body - if you're starting to feel full don't try to clean your plate because it looked like a small portion or because the guidelines say you should get in a gazillion grams of protein....

It sounds like you are having at least some problems with capacity - chew like crazy and keep portions smaller. As far as the firmness of chicken, the supermarket should have ground chicken and ground turkey, and you could make for example chili with that and kidney Beans and/or black beans, which have additional protein. Another thing they might sell is pulled chicken, which is shredded chicken breast in BBQ sauce.

I don't think it hurts to sin a little, but you do need to watch snack foods like those PB-stuffed pretzels. There is no Fiber to go with the carbs. Better to have a piece of fruit or a little low sugar oatmeal.

Hard to say! I have a Protein shake and a Protein Bar each day. Then I typically have a Lean Cuisine or Atkins frozen dinner emphasizing veggies and protein for dinner, 8-9oz. A greek yogurt now and then. I also eat some fruit, and some whole grains/fiber, like: slice of protein enriched bread w/peanut butter, or an over-easy egg, or a little chicken salad bowl of Cheerios or All-Bran or Post Shredded Wheat & Bran with organic fat-free milk Fiber enriched low sugar oatmeal with wild blueberries I am basically just trying to eat healthy and light, probably average 1000 calories or so. That's not very much, so I am losing weight about the same rate I did before surgery.

Yes. When I wake up and have to get up is when it hurts the most. At least I know someone else had the same. Sent from my phone with help from space That makes sense - your abs tighten up like a drum when you get in and out of bed, and in the morning it's been maybe 7hrs since you took a pain pill so that's probably largely worn off....

I was sleeved Feb 29th. Lost 28lb before surgery, then 16lb in the first 14 days after surgery before stalling. The stall lasted 2.5 weeks, and I am now losing about 3lb/week. Have lost a total of 51lb since Jan 1st. I am not following the eating/drinking guidelines to the letter, but I am also watching my calories and not eating anything unhealthy or that would jeapordize my progress... and I walk 3 days per week and go to the gym 3 days per week.

I still had a good deal of pain getting in and out of bed at one week (with no meds). I didn't really poke my incisions ever, but gently poked away from the incisions and I had pain just above the navel at rest to fingertip pressure. All of that gradually went away - felt pretty good at 2 weeks and nearly normal at 3 weeks.

Here are some descriptions of aquatic exercise classes offered at Latitude Sports Club on the North Shore, to give you some ideas... GENTLE WATER: This class will help the participant regain or maintain balance, range of motion and everyday functional skills. Movements will be performed at a much slower pace. WATERWORKS: This non-stressful class is designed to use the natural resistance of the Water for toning and all around good health and fitness. A fun class for all levels. 45-55 minute classes. WATER WALKING: A 45 minute low impact workout using principles of water resistance and buoyancy to strengthen leg and core muscles, thereby improving flexibility (range of motion), balance and an overall feeling of well being